New Market Possibilities Emerge Amidst eSports’ Rapid Growth
There has been a major shift in how video games are being perceived and utilized by general public. In recent years, the industry has gradually shifted focus from at-home entertainment to a more public arena, as eSports competitions have created a new and fast-growing market. Similar to any segment in the online entertainment industry, the number of viewers and direct participants is crucial for success. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global sports betting market size was valued at USD 66.98 Billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1% from 2021 to 2028. The exploding popularity of the eSports industry has resulted in increased investments and revenues, as streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Gaming give fans a direct connection to the players and teams. Additionally, certain esports organizations like FaZe Clan, are also moving aggressively into areas like merchandise, lending their brands more notoriety than if they’d stuck to esports alone. Intema Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: ITM) (OTC: ITMZF), Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMBL), Corsair Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSR), Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO)
The eSports industry has had to overcome major obstacles before reaching its current status. In previous years, limited tournament infrastructure and a lower number of organizations have restricted the market growth. Such limitations resulted in fewer revenue streams for players and team owners. However, in 2017, Riot Games created the League of Legends for the North America and Europe region, giving a structured format to the tournament. Later, in 2018, Activision Blizzard, Inc. launched its Overwatch league, creating the requisite infrastructure for the monetization of eSports tournaments. Today, the industry is vastly segmented. One of the more recent trends, which benefited from the pandemic, is eSports betting, according to LOOT.BET, one of the major Esports bookmakers. In 2020, the company observed over 67% growth in online betting volumes.
Intema Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: ITM) (OTC: ITMZF) just announced breaking news that, “it has entered into an arm’s length letter of intent dated December 7, 2021, with Amuka Ventures Inc. (DBA Amuka Esports) to acquire all the outstanding shares of Parabellum Media Inc. (“Parabellum”), owner of Parabellum Esports and Northern Shield Academy.
Parabellum Esports was founded in 2020 and is one of Canada’s top esports teams. It is currently fielding rosters in Rainbow Six, Rocket League, CSGO and iRacing, supported by a team of 10 content creators, reaching over 300,000 followers on various social media platforms. Its roster includes both men and women and was one of the first Canadian teams to support competitive women esports. Parabellum is currently sponsored by Zowie, Corsair, Whoosh and CoinSmart, and is the top-selling Canadian esports brand at Sector Six Apparel.
For its part, Northern Shield Academy is a developmental team that works with up-and-coming esports athletes to help them take their game to the next level. Participants in the academy have the opportunity to learn from professional coaches, analysts and scouts to help them reach the next level in their gaming careers.
‘We are thrilled to welcome Parabellum to the Intema team, which further strengthens our ecosystem with the addition of its leading esports team, as well as a training academy for the next generation of players,’ said Laurent Benezra, President and CEO of Intema. ‘In its short history, Parabellum has been very successful at promoting its brand and we believe that it will play a fast-growing role in Intema’s success.’
‘We are excited to join Intema and become part of their strategy to offer a unique platform combining esports and iGaming,” said Ben Feferman, CEO of Amuka Esports “We have proven in a very short period of time that our business model works, and we are confident that we will be able to accelerate our growth through Intema’s unique ecosystem of companies, targeting specific complementary areas while continuing to build and promote our academy for the next generation of players.’…
Intema Solutions Inc. is the world’s emerging leader in the esports and iGaming industry. Our mission is to bring the excitement of esports betting to the entire world through fully licensed, secure online platforms. Our ecosystem consists of subsidiaries in esports, iGaming, product branding, digital advertising and marketing campaign design that are all complementary drivers of our future revenue growth. For more information, please visit our corporate website at intema.ca.”
Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMBL) reported yesterday that its ggCircuit brand will install the ALPHA software solution at four Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company (OTCQB: WINR) (or “Simplicity Esports”) locations in a deal the Company expects will generate approximately $1.5 million in revenue over the next five years. ALPHA (short for Automated LAN Programming, Hardware, & Assistance) is an eSports software and support package for venues that want to focus on their business vision by outsourcing their technology needs to ggCircuit. By partnering with ggCircuit to deploy ALPHA, venues get access to a team with 20 years of eSports management experience to implement turnkey solutions, sourcing, setup and support services that allow venue operators to more efficiently and effectively manage and grow their business. “We’re extremely excited to bring the extensive capabilities of ALPHA to these four facilities managed by Simplicity Esports’ team,” said Magnus Leppäniemi, President of Esports at Esports Entertainment Group. “We believe ALPHA will greatly enhance their operations and improve the appeal and revenue generating power of their venues. Furthermore, Simplicity will have access to ggCircuit’s cryptocurrency mining application, which recently surpassed the $1.5 million mark in mined currency.”
Corsair Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSR) announced last month announced the first shipments to customers of its new range of ORIGIN NEURON, MILLENNIUM, GENESIS, M-Class, and L-Class desktops, putting today’s most powerful DDR5-equipped PCs in the hands of customers weeks ahead of the competition. Ideally placed within the CORSAIR group to access the latest components and technology, ORIGIN PC has benefitted from early access to high-performance CORSAIR DDR5 memory and the latest Intel Z690-chipset motherboards through close cooperation with industry partners such as Asus and MSI. This has resulted in an accelerated development and quality assurance process, combining proven CORSAIR hardware such as PC cases, coolers, and power supplies with cutting edge DDR5 memory and the latest Intel 12th generation processors, putting the most powerful ORIGIN PC systems in the hands of gamers weeks ahead of many competitors. “The integration of the complete array of CORSAIR hardware and DDR5 memory into ORIGIN PCs has allowed us go from specs to finished systems in record time,” said Kevin Wasielewski, Senior Director of DIY Marketing at CORSAIR and co-founder of ORIGIN PC. “Our ability to leverage partnerships and expertise from across the CORSAIR group is helping us put our best-ever systems in gamers’ hands faster.”
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) reported last month that Call of Duty: Vanguard is available worldwide. Vanguard delivers an unparalleled depth of Call of Duty® content across a gripping single-player story, 20 multiplayer maps on day one, an all-new Zombies experience that further explores existing story canon. Vanguard also features the deepest integration yet with Warzone™, which will launch the new Warzone Pacific, including the new map “Caldera” on December 2nd. “Vanguard launch is just the beginning. This new release will deliver unprecedented breadth and depth of amazing content experiences for Call of Duty players,” said Johanna Faries, General Manager, Call of Duty, Activision. “Together with next month’s release of the all-new Warzone Pacific map, Call of Duty is set to create the most integrated and deepest live ops calendar we’ve ever had. Today is an exciting next chapter for our ever-evolving franchise.”
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) announced last month that it has acquired PLATYGOBIAN, S.L., doing business as elite3d, one of the world’s leading creative studios dedicated to innovative 2D and 3D artwork for the video game industry. Based in Valencia, Spain, the newly acquired team will rebrand in two ways: first, to form a second office for wholly owned developer 31st Union; and second, to develop a new 2K Publishing location, including a focus on its Global Services division. In addition, 2K has acquired TURIA GAMES, S.L. in Valencia, a development studio co-owned by the founders of elite3d. Financial terms and employment numbers related to the acquisition were not disclosed.
https://levvvel.com/esports-statistics/
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